Moso bamboo can rapidly complete its growth in both height and diameter within only 35–40 days after shoot emergence. However, the underlying mechanism for this “explosive growth” remains poorly understood. We investigated the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in shoots and attached mature bamboos over a 20-month period. The results showed that Moso bamboos rapidly completed their height and diameter growth within 38 days. At the same time, attached mature bamboos transferred almost all the NSCs of their leaves, branches, and especially trunks and rhizomes to the “explosively growing” shoots via underground rhizomes for the structural growth and metabolism of shoots. Approximately 4 months after shoot emergence, this transfer stopped when the leaves of the young bamboos could independently provide enough photoassimilates to meet the carbon demands of the young bamboos. During this period, the NSC content of the leaves, branches, trunks and rhizomes of mature bamboos declined by 1.5, 23, 28 and 5 fold, respectively. The trunk contributed the most NSCs to the shoots. Our findings provide new insight and a possible rational mechanism explaining the “explosive growth” of Moso bamboo and shed new light on understanding the role of NSCs in the rapid growth of Moso bamboo.

Objective. High dose fluorescein sodium has been utilized for fluorescence-guided tumor resection with conflicting reports on the efficacy of this procedure. The aim of this study was to reevaluate the utility and clinical limitations of using fluorescein sodium for the treatment and resection of glioma brain tumors.Methods. Patients diagnosed with glioma were divided into two groups with a total of 22 patients enrolled in the study: 1) the study group (n=10), patients that received intravenous injection of fluorescein sodium and 2) the control group (n=12), patients that did not receive injections during surgical resection. Quality of life was evaluated according to Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score and neurological status. Fluorescein sodium was intravenously injected at a dose of 15-20mg/kg of body weight. Glioma resection was evaluated preoperative and postoperatively with enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).Results. Significant differences in the gross total resection (GTR) rates were observed between the two patient groups (Fisher's Exact Test p=0.047). Progressive free survival was significantly longer in the study group (Student's T-Test p=0.033) as well as in the GTR group (Student's T-Test p=0.0001) compared to the control and non-GTR groups, respectively. Three patients in the study group and four patients in the control group had transient neurological deterioration. One patient in the control group had permanent hemiplegia.Conclusion. The intraoperative utility of using fluorescein sodium can significantly increase the GTR rate without obvious deterioration. In addition, we find that it is better to apply the fluorescein sodium in the cases with BBB (blood-brain barrier) disruption, which had been enhanced in preoperative MRI.

Aims The litter decomposition effects of N deposition in combination with management practices are still unclear. The aims of this study were to test the individual and interactive effects of the two factors on Moso bamboo leaf litter decomposition. Methods The experiment was conducted in Moso bamboo forests over a 24-month period and included three N addition treatments (low N, 30 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ;medium N, 60 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ; and high N, 90 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ) and two management practices (conventional management and intensive management). Results The low-N treatment significantly increased the annual decomposition rate, whereas the high-N treatment significantly decreased the annual decomposition rate (P<0.05). Intensive management alone did not significantly influence decomposition, but it amplified both the positive effects of the low-N treatment and the negative effects of the high-N treatment on litter decomposition. Intensive management weakened the positive effects of N addition on N loss but enhanced the positive effects on P loss during the early stage. Conclusions The effects of increasing N deposition in a plantation ecosystem were altered by the management practices, and these changes should be considered when estimating the biological effects of N deposition at regional and global scales.

Incorporating two-dimensional (2D) graphene sheets into a 3D graphene structure provides porous structures to bind enzyme but with low enzyme affinity and unstable structure because of removal of the surficial functional group and the flexibility of graphene sheets. To address this issue, we herein constructed a 3D porous Ti3C2T x MXene–graphene (MG) hybrid film through a facile mixing–drying process. Ti3C2T x MXene nanosheets (MNS) with hydrophilic groups on the rigid flakes endowed the MG hybrid film with open porous structure and a highly hydrophilic miroenvironment. By simply controlling the content of Ti3C2T x MNS and graphene sheets, the sizes of the internal pores were accordingly tunable. The 3D porous hybrid film, fabricated from Ti3C2T x MNS and graphene sheets (weight ratios of 1:2 abd 1:3), supplied more open structure to facilitate the glucose oxidase (GOx) entering the internal pores, which probably enhanced the stable immobilization and retaining of the GOx in the film. As a result, the as-proposed biosensor exhibited prominent electrochemical catalytic capability toward glucose biosensing, which was finally applied for glucose assay in sera. The preparation of the size-controlled 3D porous hybrid film provided a method for effectively binding enzymes/protein further to develop elegant biosensors.

Microdialysis is often applied to understanding brain function. Because neurotransmission involves rapid events, increasing the temporal resolution of in vivo measurements is desirable. Here, we demonstrate microdialysis with on-line capillary liquid chromatography for the analysis of one-minute rat brain dialysate samples at one-minute intervals. Mobile phase optimization involved adjusting the pH, buffer composition, and surfactant concentration to eliminate interferences with the dopamine peak. By analyzing electrically evoked dopamine transients carefully synchronized with the switching of the on-line LC sample valve, we demonstrate that our system has both one-minute sampling capabilities and bona fide one-minute temporal resolution. Evoked DA transients were confined to single, one-minute brain dialysate samples. After uptake inhibition with nomifensine (20 mg/kg i.p.), responses to electrical stimuli of one-second duration were detected.

Direct determination of cerebral metal ions in small volume biological samples is still the bottleneck for evaluating the roles that metal ions play in the physiological and pathological processes. In this work, selected copper ion (Cu(2+)) as a model, a facile and direct electrochemical method for detection of Cu(2+) has been developed on the basis of two new designed strategies: one is specific recognition molecule for Cu(2+)-AE-TPEA (N-(2-aminoethyl)-N,N',N'-tris(pyridine-2-yl-methyl)ethane-1,2-diamine); another is carbon dots (C-Dots) with high electrocatalytic activity. Based on the high affinity between TPEA and Cu(2+), the electrode assembled with C-Dot-TPEA hybridized nanocomposites shows high selectivity toward Cu(2+) over other metal ions, amino acids, and biological coexisting species, such as uric acid (UA), ascorbic acid (AA), and so on, which makes it possible to be used for determination of Cu(2+) in the complex brain system. By taking advantage of C-Dots, a dynamic linear range from 1 μM to 60 μM is first achieved with a detection limit of ∼100 nM in aCSF solution. In addition, the developed method with theoretical simplicity and less instrumental demands exhibits long-term stability and good reproducibility. As a result, the present strategy has been successfully applied in detection of cerebral Cu(2+) in normal rat brain and that followed by global cerebral ischemia, combined with in vivo microdialysis. The determined concentrations of Cu(2+) in the rat brain microdialysates by the present method are found to be identical to those obtained by the conventional ICP-AES method.

For the first time, a series of noble metal (Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt) nanoparticles (NPs) based on new functional graphene were successfully achieved via UV-assisted photocatalytic reduction by ZnO nanorods. The whole preparation strategy for constructing noble metal deposited graphene sheets/ZnO (GS/ZnO) was elucidated in detail in this work. First, graphene oxide based two-dimensional carbon nanostructures served as a support to disperse ZnO nanorods through a hydrothermal route. The ZnO nanorods were self-assembled onto the surface of graphene sheets, forming GS/ZnO nanocomposite, and the graphene oxide was reduced, yielding reduced graphene sheets in this synthetic procedure. Second, the GS/ZnO films were further employed as supporting materials for the dispersion of metal nanoparticles. Photogenerated electrons from UV-irradiated ZnO were transported across GS to stepwise and respectively reduce v μL metal ions (Ag(+), Pd(2+), AuCl4(-), PtCl6(2-), 20 mg/mL) into metal (Ag, Pd, Au, Pt) NPs at a location distinct from the ZnO anchored site, forming five graphene-based hybrid nanocomposites designated as GS/ZnO, GS/ZnO@Agv, GS/ZnO@Pdv, GS/ZnO@Auv, GS/ZnO@Ptv, respectively. The obtained mutihybrid nanoarchitectured materials were clearly characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to the diameters and distribution, the four metal NPs on GS/ZnO were divided into two categories: Ag&Au and Pd&Pt. Their difference was rooted in the rival abilities of gathering electron between graphene and different metal islands in the photochemical reduction process. The electrochemical behaviors of the five resultant hybrid nanocomposites were investigated in H2O2 as well as in potassium ferricyanide (Fe(CN)6(3-/4-)) and displayed distinct electrocatalytic activity.

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